This year, nearly three thousand people were admitted to 18 of Russia's top universities through a quota for participants of the war in Ukraine and their children, calculated «Important Stories». This is 58% more than were admitted to these universities through the same quota last year. Nationwide, 3.5% of all first-year students on a budget were admitted through the «SVO» quota. According to the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Valery Falkov, in 2025, 50,000 budget places are reserved for participants of the war against Ukraine and their children.
At the same time, more than a thousand people were admitted without exams. For example, at SPbSU, out of 103 «separate» beneficiaries admitted without exams, at least five are military personnel, and another 26 applicants are children of deceased or injured military personnel.
More than 300 people were admitted through a separate quota at MSU, 116 of whom were admitted without considering the results of the Unified State Exam. At HSE, more than 260 people were admitted through a separate quota, more than half of them without exams.
83% of those admitted would not have been admitted without the quota. They passed without exams or scored dozens of points less than they would have needed in the general competition.
Almost all admitted through the quota to three Russian medical universities — Sechenov University in Moscow, Pavlov University in St. Petersburg, and Burdenko University in Voronezh — passed without exams or scored below the passing marks. The lowest scores are among future pediatricians.
Admission benefits for children of participants in the war against Ukraine were introduced back in 2022. At that time, 1.8 thousand children of «SVO» participants were admitted to universities on this basis.
A year later, it was expanded, allocating 10% of budget places in each specialty in all universities, and included not only children but also the participants of the war in Ukraine themselves, law enforcement officers, and civil servants in occupied territories. Children of teachers, doctors, rescuers, engineers, and representatives of any other professions working in Russia do not have such benefits.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.
Infographic: Important Stories